Some 80,000 children at risk of cholera across West, Central Africa: UN

United Nations, July 31 An estimated 80,000 children are at high risk of cholera as the rainy season begins across West and Central Africa, a UN spokesperson said.

Active outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria raise the threat of cross-border transmission to neighbouring countries, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, at a daily briefing on Wednesday.

Chad, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo are also grappling with ongoing epidemics, Haq cited UNICEF. Niger, Liberia, Benin, the Central African Republic and Cameroon remain under surveillance due to vulnerability, he added.

Since the start of the outbreaks, UNICEF has been delivering health, water, hygiene and sanitation supplies to treatment facilities and communities, said the spokesperson.

Besides supporting cholera vaccination in the affected areas and encouraging families to seek treatment and improve hygiene practices, urgent and scaled-up efforts are needed to prevent further spread and contain the disease across the region, Xinhua news agency reported.

To augment the emergency response across the region over the next three months, UNICEF West and Central Africa urgently requires $20 million to provide support in health, water and sanitation, risk communication and community engagement, Haq said.

According to the World Health Organization, Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is a global public health threat and indicates inequity and a lack of social and economic development. Access to safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene is essential to prevent cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Most people with cholera have mild or moderate diarrhoea and can be treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the disease can progress rapidly, so starting treatment quickly is vital to save lives. Patients with severe disease need intravenous fluids, ORS and antibiotics.

Countries need strong epidemiological and laboratory surveillance to swiftly detect and monitor outbreaks and guide responses.

Cholera outbreaks occur regularly in some countries. In others, they are less frequent, and it may be years between outbreaks. Cholera is linked to limited access to safe water, basic sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices. This may be due to conflict, population displacement, climate events like cyclones, floods or drought, and lack of investment in maintaining and improving WASH services and infrastructure.

The number of cholera cases reported to the WHO has continued to rise in recent years. In 2023, a total of 535,321 cases and 4007 deaths were reported to the WHO from 45 countries. The discrepancy between these figures and the numbers estimated by researchers is likely due to limited surveillance systems and cases not being recorded out of fear of repercussions for trade and tourism.

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